A personal "behind the scenes" insight from the perspectives of CEO-wife and COO-husband power team into what its like to be a family owned and operated small business called EBSCO Spring Company. www.ebscospring.com

Foreseeing Hindsight

If Hindsight is always 20/20 then foreseeing hindsight is the ultimate level of confidence.

I blogged three weeks ago about Ebsco’s new initiative, E = cs² or Ebsco’s common sense squared. The squared is lean manufacturing techniques. This will be the largest initiative I have taken on so far at Ebsco. If I said I wasn’t a little nervous I would be lying. The Boss even asked to be added to the team on this one. She generally does not serve on the teams, leading and supporting them from outside. When she asked to be included I knew this one was different. E=cs² has the potential to provide a “rocket thrust” to our continuous improvement process. Ebsco may enter a phase of hyper change with improvements from every angle. That makes sense, the key to E = cs² is the team. The team at Ebsco has been great all along at finding better ways to do things and we are turning them loose with new training and a mandate to find improvements. I have no doubt that they will throw things at me as fast as I can catch. With multiple teams on multiple projects, I will need to be in my best “Business Shape” ever to keep up. I think I am.

If you read my previous blog we are looking at everything, through the shades of our Company’s culture using lean manufacturing as the road map. We are NOT blindly implementing all lean manufacturing techniques at Ebsco. That is where many companies fail. Successful companies utilize lean strategies that are right for their company at the right time. Simple as that. Blindly drinking the Lean KoolAid has spelled disappointment and disaster for several companies. The key is common sense. Ebsco Common Sense, rooted in the common experience of our team. We instinctively know what we need to do. We intuitively have the answers to the questions. COMMON SENSE squared is a powerful tool.

I sit looking back at the initiatives and programs I have rolled out since I’ve been at Ebsco and it is as if they were all in preparation for E = cs². It seems impossible, since E =cs² didn’t exist three months ago. Maybe the ideals we were all chasing, the Boss’s vision, is all culminating in this initiative and therefore everything has been preparation for this. The vision set forth by Ms. Dooley of creating a “World Class Company” was clear to all of us. So maybe, just maybe everything up until now was stepping-stones for the journey we are about to embark upon. It sure feels like it to me. Boss, we heard what you said, so hang on because we’re making things happen.

I definitely see a real sense of importance with E = cs². It’s more than a project or an initiative. This is a culture change that will last as long as Ebsco itself. This will become part of our company and will drive our continuous improvement into the future. This is why I say I’m nervous. The beginning always sets the standard for the future. How we start this journey will directly influence the entire trip. I feel we must launch E = cs² with a bang to insure it doesn’t dwindle on with a fizzle.

If Hindsight is always 20/20 then foreseeing hindsight is the ultimate level of confidence.

I started my blog with this and then went on to ignore the sentence. Everyone knows hindsight is always 20/20. It’s easy to know what you should have done by the results from what you have done. I see, in the future, looking back at the beginning of E = cs² and reflecting on how important it was to Ebsco’s success. I see, in the future, contemplating how important this has become to Ebsco. I see, in the future, wondering how we would have accomplished so much without it. That’s my foresight. Soooo… If Hindsight is always 20/20 and I have this foresight of that future hindsight then I should be pretty confident in E = cs². Then why so nervous?? Nervous should never be confused with lack of confidence. I feel nervous due to the impact I know E = cs² can have on Ebsco. I feel nervous because I know there is no room for error.